Basil Arthur

The Honourable Sir Basil Arthur
20th Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office 1984–1985
Prime Minister	David Lange
Preceded by	Richard Harrison
Succeeded by	Gerard Wall
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Timaru
In office 1962–1985
Preceded by	Clyde Carr
Succeeded by	Maurice McTigue
Personal details
Born	18 September 1928 Timaru, New Zealand
Died	1 May 1985 (aged 56)
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	Labour

Sir Basil Malcolm Arthur, 5th Baronet (18 September 1928 – 1 May 1985) served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1984 to 1985. He was a member of the Labour Party.

Early life

Arthur was born in Timaru, New Zealand. His father, a hotel proprietor, inherited the title of 4th Baronet in 1941, and Arthur in turn inherited it on his father's death in 1949. However, he showed a preference for labouring jobs, and made little of his title.

Member of Parliament

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1962–1963	33rd	Timaru		Labour
1963–1966	34th	Timaru		Labour
1966–1969	35th	Timaru		Labour
1969–1972	36th	Timaru		Labour
1972–1975	37th	Timaru		Labour
1975–1978	38th	Timaru		Labour
1978–1981	39th	Timaru		Labour
1981–1984	40th	Timaru		Labour
1984–1985	41st	Timaru		Labour

In 1960 Arthur stood for Labour in the Hamilton electorate, coming second.

In the 1962 by-election, he was elected to Parliament as the Labour MP for Timaru. On entering Parliament at age 33 he was the country's youngest MP. He was reluctant to be called "Sir", but the Speaker at the time said that refusing this honorific would be disrespectful to the Queen.

Cabinet minister

Arthur was Minister of Transport and Minister in Charge of the State Insurance Office from 1972 until 1975.

Speaker

When Labour won the 1984 election, Arthur became Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He served in that capacity for one year, before dying in office after a short illness. The then Prime Minister, David Lange recalled in My Life (2005) that Arthur was gravely ill in Wellington Hospital, and if he resigned from the member's superannuation scheme before he died (but not otherwise) his estate would get a lump-sum payment. He had to answer a question in the house, then went to hospital with a letter of resignation "only to find that he had died hardly a minute before I got there". Labour lost the subsequent Timaru by-election, with a candidate that did not suit "the conservative character of the electorate."^[1]

It is interesting to note that Arthur was the second baronet to serve as Speaker, the first being Sir Charles Clifford, 1st Baronet (the first Speaker of the House of Representatives), although he was made a baronet some time after he had retired from politics.

References

1. David Lange (2005). My Life. Viking. ISBN 0-670-04556-X.

External links

• Dictionary of New Zealand Biography entry